Walker County Animal Shelter reopens with upgrades, new director

These sunscreens, added to the side of the Walker County Animal Shelter, are part of the shelter's recent upgrades. Advertising adoptable animals, they have already proven to be effective - three of the four featured have been adopted. / Staff photo by Sabrina Bodon
These sunscreens, added to the side of the Walker County Animal Shelter, are part of the shelter's recent upgrades. Advertising adoptable animals, they have already proven to be effective - three of the four featured have been adopted. / Staff photo by Sabrina Bodon

After getting back from the veterinarian with two cats and a puppy in tow, Emily Sadler walked into her newly renovated office at the Walker County Animal Shelter. A brown Petco box in the middle of the room shuffled at the sound of her footsteps.

"Is there a kitten in there?" she asked in a sweet voice.

Sadler was in the middle of saying that every day is hectic, when, to her surprise, she discovered a bunny.

"Oh, you're a big bunny," she said with a laugh.

Before the shelter temporarily stopped accepting animals earlier this summer, she said there were days when residents would drop off 10 animals at a time. Sadler, 34, took over as director of the shelter in July.

(Read more: Report details messy, unsanitary conditions at Walker County Animal Shelter)

At the time of closing, conditions for both the animals and staff weren't ideal, she said. Offices were used to hold animals, dogs and cats were doubled up in cages, and it was becoming more difficult to maintain acceptable conditions.

During the five-week closure, the shelter was still open for adoption, but much-needed updates and upgrades to the facilities were made, like repainting, removing old baseboards, replacing chewed-up doorknobs and installing a new online management system to keep track of animals. One of Sadler's priorities was installing a pulley system on the doors of the dog runs which allows a staff member or volunteer to open the outside door of the kennel without having to enter the cage, which could be dangerous if a dog is unfriendly.

The shelter had a few upgrades to the outside, too, including a power washing and the addition of sunscreens showcasing some of the cats and dogs up for adoption. Already, three of the initially featured four have found their forever homes.

The shelter reopened for intake Aug. 1., though residents are now asked to call to schedule surrenders. This gives staff a chance to consult calendars that show when there will be available space.

An effective animal shelter, said Sadler, works as a revolving door, not a warehouse for animals.

Sadler said the number of animals at the shelter is changing constantly, and would likely change by the time the sun had set for the day, but as of last Wednesday the shelter housed 15 cats and 66 dogs. It had adopted out 10 animals that week, but a few dogs had been there since February, including Zeus, an 8-year-old Mastiff mix.

As of August, 18 dogs and one cat have been euthanized this year, according to Walker County departmental statistics. Comparatively, 336 dogs and 396 cats were euthanized in 2017. Walker County Commissioner Whitfield pledged in 2017 to bring that number down by working with the national nonprofit Target Zero. Helping to meet that promise, Sadler last week transported 25 animals to another shelter in Kentucky for adoption.

To view pets available for adoption at the Walker County Animal Shelter, visit the shelter's Facebook page. The facility is located at 5488 N. Marble Top Road in Chickamauga and can be reached at 706-375-2100.

Email Sabrina Bodon at sbodon@timesfreepress.com.

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